Chapter 14
By the time Maria got downstairs for dinner, everyone was already there. Obviously. I'm always the last one to the table. Maria thought wryly. "Good evening, Captain!" The Captain turned to her, glad to hear her voice again. "Evening, Fraulein. I trust that the puppet show is going well?" Fraulein Maria grinned. "Of course!" She said, walking over to her seat. After they said grace, Maria asked the children how their day was. "Oh, it was ok, Fraulein. I mean, it was fun at first, because we played tag, but then after that, we got bored." Liesl said. Laughing, Maria looked over to the captain, who was busy eating his food. "Looks like the high-ranking sea captain failed to keep his children busy!" Maria said teasingly. The Captain looked up from his food and smiled. "Yes. Unfortunately, my seven children are no match for a man MY age." The children looked a little sheepish. "I guess we wore you out a little, didn't we, Father." Brigitta said guiltily. The Captain snorted. "A little? Haha, you call that a little? You children kept on complaining I couldn't get anything done!" He said, with a trace of humor in his voice. The children laughed. Maria spoke up. "You're not the only one that thinks that. I, myself sometimes feel overwhelmed when it comes to your children." The two adults shared a smile. The children were starting to look really guilty. The Captain noticed this and laughed. "Oh children, I was only joking. You all are a pleasure to spend time with." Kurt, looking relieved like the rest of his siblings, said, "I knew that!" "Sure…" Everyone chorused. They all laughed, enjoying the company of each other. The Captain, especially was glad to hear Maria's tinkling laugh that seemed to stand out. Everything about her stands out. He thought, looking at her as she sat there chatting with his children. The way her eyes shine when she's happy. The sound of her voice. Even her clothes seem to shine, no matter how ugly the dress is. Sighing in contentment, he came back to reality. "We're having a party, Marta." Gretl was saying. Marta's eyes widened. "For what!" "I think I know." Maria said thoughtfully. "Is it a party presenting Liesl Von Trapp to society?" The children looked at her in astonishment. "How did you know?" Marta asked. Laughing, Maria said, "Well, let's just say that your father mentioned it to me a couple of days ago." The other children turned to their father. "Father? Is that true?" The Captain nodded. "Yes. I thought that Fraulein Maria could maybe help me make all the arrangements." "So, are all the arrangements done?" Liesl questioned. "It's all done, thanks to Fraulein Maria." The captain said, looking at Maria gratefully. IN turn, she smiled at him. "Well, all I did was pick the design for the invitations, kept you children busy doing other things to notice anything, and taking care of the cuisines. It was your father that did most of the work." "No, It was you!" "NO you!" The children exchanged amused glances. They would make the perfect couple. Liesl thought with a sigh. She looked at her father, than at Maria. It was obvious that Father had feelings for Maria. She could see it whenever he talked to Fraulein Maria.
Unfortunately, she knew that life was no fairytale. No matter how hard you try, life isn't always "happily ever after". Coming back to reality, she saw that the two were tired of the silly argument, and were now talking to the children about the party. They all talked until their dinner was finished. Then, they got up and walked out of the dining room to do whatever they did. Before they left, Maria stopped Liesl. "Liesl, would you come with me for a moment?" Liesl, concerned, said, "Sure, Fraulein." The two went up to Maria's room, where Maria shut the door, and pulled a dress from the plastic bag. Liesl gasped. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. It was made of a soft material, the same as her other dress that she wore the night Fraulein Maria came. Except that this color was baby blue, and this material had little pieces of sparkles on it. The top part of the dress had a neckline decently low enough to be proper, but still low enough to look fashionable. The dress flared out nicely from the waist down. "It's beautiful. Where did you get it?" Liesl breathed. Maria smiled. "I'm glad that you like it. I didn't get it anywhere. I made it." Liesl gasped. "But, how? Where did you get the material?" "Your father asked for my taste of the type of material that you would like. We got the perfect material for you through this catalogue. Your father ordered it, and then I made up a dress that would match your style." Maria replied. Liesl was wordless. She couldn't find the proper word to say how she felt, so she just threw her arms around Maria, and whispered, "Thanks." "Your welcome, Liesl." Maria whispered back. "Now, why don't you try it on?" Liesl nodded excitedly, took the dress from the bed, and went into the bathroom to change. When she got changed into it, she looked at herself in the mirror. She couldn't believe her eyes. The dress was extremely beautiful by itself, but with her actually in it, it made the dress look even more beautiful, if that was even possible. It made HER look beautiful. Usually when she saw herself in the mirror, she saw a sixteen year old. Now, when she looked at herself with the special dress, she didn't see that. She saw a girl that could pass for eighteen, nineteen years old. The dress made her eyes look bluer than ever, and her dark hair contrasted against the baby blue material. "Liesl, did you try it on yet?" She heard Maria calling out. Quickly opening the door, she waited to see Maria's reaction. Maria's eyes widened and her face shocked. "Liesl, you look…you look…." She trailed off, unable to finish. She always thought that Liesl was pretty. And she knew that the dress would look stunning on her. But- she was even more than stunning in that dress. She was…. Gorgeous! Extremely gorgeous, and extremely beautiful. "Well?" Liesl was still waiting for her answer. Liesl was starting to get a little anxious. Maybe she wasn't as beautiful in it as she thought she was. Maybe…. "You look extremely gorgeous, sweetheart." Maria finally said, with tears forming in her eyes. Liesl smiled widely. "Thank you, Fraulein. But it was all your doing. You're the one that made the dress." She hugged Maria tightly. The two just held each other for the next few moments, when finally Maria pulled away. "We should get back to the children." She said finally. Nodding, Liesl said, "Alright. Let's go downstairs!" Maria said, "oh, Liesl. Be sure to keep that dress a secret. Until your ball that is." Liesl nodded. "I will, Fraulein. I will." Maria said, "Ok, then. Let's go down, now." Grinning, the two woman linked arms and went downstairs, where the other children and their father were playing cards. The two quietly watched from a couch where they sat. After a few moments, Maria thought of something. "Captain, is it ok if I bring Mary Poppins to lunch tomorrow? I'll visit her tomorrow, and ask her then." Startled, the Captain looked up. "Oh, yes, Fraulein. Go ahead." Smiling, Maria said, "Thank you." "No problem, Fraulein. No problem." The Captain said, staring at Maria. Maria looked down, embarrassed. There he goes again. Liesl, seeing all this, looked at her father carefully. He was still staring at Maria, with that dreamy look in his eye. Yes. There's definitely love in those eyes. Liesl thought. Turning to Maria, she frowned. Maria, on the other hand, didn't seem to enjoy being the center of the Captain's attention. She started reading, doing anything possible to not look at the Captain. She hated having the Captain stare at her that way. It's as if he's in love with me or something. Maria thought. Realization suddenly hit her. Oh no! He's in love with me! With me! The employee! And I don't even like him back! Looking up as she held her breath, she saw that the Captain had, at last, stopped looking at her, and was now chatting with his children again. Maria let out her breath in relief. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe he just thinks there is something wrong with how I look. Yeah, that's it! Maria started breathing easier. At last, calmness flew through her, and she began to relax. After some time, she looked at the clock. It said 9:00 pm. Time to go to sleep! Rising, she said, "Children, its time to say goodnight." The children groaned but did as she asked. Maria quickly followed the children upstairs in an attempt to escape from the Captain. Once out of the room and upstairs, she tucked the children into their rooms and said goodnight. She went to her room, shut the door, changed into her night gown, said a quick prayer, and fell on her bed. She was extremely exhausted from the flurry of activities that day. Within seconds, she was fast asleep. Meanwhile, the Captain was wide awake. He couldn't stop thinking of Maria. He knew from the look on her face when she saw that he was staring at her that she didn't return the feeling of love. Sighing, he turned in his bed, and tried to get some sleep.